Elsa and the Wendigo
by archtech88
Summary: A beast has been stalking and killing in villages of Arendelle and its up to Queen Elsa to stop it, for this is no ordinary creature. It thing from a land across the ocean with power over ice and snow, and a hunger for the flesh of all it encounters. It will take all of Elsa's cunning to stop it, if she even can. Takes place before "Sorry About the Mess" but after "Frozen"
1. Ch1 Meeting the Wendigo

"And this is the last place it was seen?" asked Elsa as she went numb from the sheer destructive power of what had been unleashed.

"Yes your majesty," replied the villager who had been her guide. "The beast was unlike anything we had ever seen before."

Elsa's powers had long since been accepted by the people of Arendelle. Her control over the winter had seen it through what had been very bad winters for their neighbors, driving back the natural blizzards as much as she brought in cool ice in the summer months.

Her snowmen had long since been accepted by the people of Arendelle. While they were first thought of as unnatural abominations, their ability to protect the people and tribes of Arendelle soon endeared them to the various places they patrolled. These days, many villages boasted of their wintery protectors and would claim that Elsa's favor lay more or less upon them depending on how many beasts they slew through the year.

"How many has the monster killed?" asked Elsa, unnerved by the idea that something with abilities close to her own was out there slaughtering her people.

"Fifteen, your majesty, and it grows bolder every day. Some even refuse to attend their flocks for fear it will find them and consume them like the others," said the villager.

"Well I am here now. I am sorry that I was unable to come sooner, but rest assured I will not leave until this thing is destroyed," said Elsa, hoping that the confidence she projected would mask the fear she felt.

"Thank you, your majesty. I am sure that you will be able to end its blighted curse on us once and for all," he said, giving her a large, bobbing bow as a large grin crossed his face. He looked up and the grin vanished as the sun began to set in the sky.

He turned back to Elsa, who dismissed him with a wave of her hand. "Return to your home, you have done all you can. I will see to the rest now," said Elsa.

The villager bowed again and scampered away, fleeing to his village in the hope that it would better protect him from the onslaught that was to come.

Elsa turned and marched into the darkness. The villager had said that the beast roamed in the woods around them, bringing a blighted and twisted winter with it wherever it went. Elsa didn't understand what he meant until she began to encroach upon a winter foreign to her own.

The trees here had fallen, their few remaining limbs twisting and grasping at the air like a drowned man from beneath a sheet of ice. The trunks of pine trees were surrounded by the shrapnel of a quick and cold frost, a thing too dark and hideous even for them to survive.

There were no animals to be found. Tracks would end with spattered, red blotches on the ground. The air was silent and still; not a birdcall or insect to be heard. The silence consumed the air and sent a chill up Elsa's spine.

"What could have done this?" Elsa asked herself as she looked at the destruction around her. When she had frozen Arendelle, it had been a disaster, but a manageable one. She hadn't killed anything; rather, she covered and preserved the land, bringing it back into full bloom once she gained control over her strength. It was cold and desolate while it lasted, but nothing died. This thing, on the other hand, was death, absorbing and unmaking the land where it went.

The scenery grew even more desolate as she went onwards towards the beast. Not even trees remained now, and the animal tracks all but vanished. What few tracks did remain led away from here, spilling out from every direction except the one she proceeded in. There were bears, wolves, reindeer and all manner of beasts running and scampering from the thing ahead with no regard for their companions. Whatever it was, it was worse.

Elsa gulped and went on.

A sad howl filled the air and Elsa jerked back in surprise. It was a wretched thing, its range extending far above and below the range of any natural animal, colliding and meshing into a dark noise that sent shivers up her spine.

Elsa crept forward and spied the beast in question. It was a huge, monstrous thing, larger than anything she'd ever seen. It covered with spines of ice and snow clung to it like shaggy fur. Its limbs were long and emancipated, as if it hadn't eaten in days. It was hunched over a dead wolf and was tearing into it like it was the last thing left to it. When it looked up to gulp down its meal Elsa reeled back in horror.

Its teeth jutted out from its mouth at jagged angles, sharpened into blades set in its mouth. Its nose was gone with only a pair of slits remaining were its nostrils once were and its eyes were wide and wild. But whatever else it was now, it was, at it its core, human.

Elsa took a step forward and the creature jerked up, sniffing the air and throwing the dead to the side. It looked around and staggered to its feet. It would have towered over the trees of the forest if any of them were left alive.

It took a step towards her, then stumbled away, feeling at the air like a blind man searching for an insolent child. Its fingers lengthened and stretched out into claws and it began to salivate, twitching its jaw as it spiraled out from its initial position.

Elsa took another step forward and it twisted towards her. A sick grin crossed its face and it charged at her, roaring and howling as it came.

Elsa raised her hands and set back into a defensive position, preparing an icy blast that would flash freeze even the mightiest of beasts. When it was almost upon her she let it fly and struck it square in the heart.

The beast stumbled backwards as ice covered and consumed it until it was nothing more than horrifying than a sculpture.

Elsa sighed and looked around at the desolate waste around her. She could feel the death permeating the soil and hoped that given enough time that life would return, though it would be long in coming.

She began to concentrate on lifting the dark winter when a sudden cracking sound made her look u. She watched as her ice broke and fell away from the beast. As it moved towards her, chunks of flesh fell away from it but still it did not stop. If anything, the beast was grinning.

"Sister," the beast moaned. "Kin. Blood of my blood. Join me," it said to her.

Elsa stepped away from it. "You are no kin of mine, foul beast, and I will not join you."

The beast laughed. "But we are. You are the lady of winter, and I am the lord of it. I feel your power upon this place. You have brought winter on it once, so join me and we shall bring it unending forevermore!" it cried out throwing its hands into the air.

Elsa narrowed her eyes. "I brought it once, but I took it away as well."

"Because you feared your strength. Embrace it," said the beast as it began to circle around her.

Elsa matched it step for step, joining in its deadly dance. "I feared it because I could not control it. I would never wish unending winter upon anyone."

"Then you are weak," it said, then leapt at her.

Elsa gathered her strength again but this time repelled the cold, embracing her love of Anna and pulling the dark winter into her body.

The beast cried out in shock but there was nothing it could do, sloshing around Elsa and splattering into nothing more than wet snow behind her.

A wisp of steam rose up from the sloshing snow, retaining a smattering of its body to convey to her one last message. "I am strong, Queen Elsa, and you only delay the inevitable. This land will be mine," it said with a sneer, then vanished in the moonlight.

Elsa felt the warmth creep back into the land around her, as if it had been too afraid to set foot while it was here. In a few minutes, hesitant birdcalls rang through the air and the swift pitter patter of the forest beasts rang in her ears.

She didn't move from where she stood.

She shivered, hoping to God above that she'd killed it, but in her heart she knew she was wrong. Somewhere out there was a thing, a monster of snow and ice that had almost matched her in power, and she had no idea what it could be.

Elsa sighed and began to trek back to the village. She would tell them that the woods were safe again, of course, but after that she had to go to the trolls and hope that they could tell her something about it.

* * *

**A/N: This isn't the end of the Wendigo by a long shot, guys and gals. Hope you're settled in for the ride**


	2. Ch2 A Talk with the Trolls

When Elsa arrived in their conclave the trolls had built up a fire and were huddled near it, deep in discussion. She waited at a polite distance until the group split and Grand Pabbie emerged.

"I am glad you have come, your Majesty. Please come and join me near the fire where it is safe," he said, gesturing towards a spot near him.

As she walked up, the trolls began to dig out and build a chair into the ground for her so that by the time she reached him there was a comfortable little seat for her. She gathered her ice dress around herself and sank down into it and then turned to Grand Pabbie.

He began to speak before she even had the chance to ask her question. "It is called Wendigo, and it is a spirit of deepest winter," said Grand Pabbie, casting a wash of images across the sky as he spoke. Each one contained the same kind of beast from before and it was always eating. Sometimes it was an animal, but more often than not it was a human.

Elsa shuddered. "Wendigo? I've never heard of it before," she said, moving closer to him.

Grand Pabbie waved his hand and the pictures vanished. "Because it does not come from here. It is from a land across the waters on the other side of the world, bound by a compact that dates back before your folk ever entered this place."

"My family only came into Arendelle a few hundred years ago, but I'm would have thought that some stories of it existed among the villages, but," began Elsa, only to stop when Grand Pabbie shook his head.

"I do not mean your family. I mean your kind; humanity as a whole. The Wendigo was banished from this place. That it has returned does not bode well. " said Grand Pabbie.

"What does it do?" asked Elsa, afraid that she already knew the answer.

"It binds winter to its will, bringing storms of great and terrible power. It is also a fearsome hunter, eating anything and everything it can get hold of. Most often, though, it hunts man," he said.

Elsa looked up at the fire and then back to Grand Pabbie. "If it only hunts man, why did you build up such a great fire? Surely you aren't worried about it attacking here."

Grand Pabbie shook his head. "I am not worried for us. I am worried for you. I fear that by striking at it you have only angered it and drawn its attention to you."

"How did you know … never mind. I killed it. It's dead. How could it hurt me now?" asked Elsa.

"How did you kill it, then? With fire? Burning? Dismemberment?" asked Grand Pabbie, shooting each word at her like an arrow from a crossbow.

"I used my powers to disintegrate its body. It was made of ice so it was easy enough to do," said Elsa, grinning as she leaned back in the chair that the trolls had made for her.

Grand Pabbie just chuckled. "That might work, but I would keep a wary eye out just the same. Wendigo are things of winter and I suspect that such an attack will only delay its return."

"So what would you suggest I do?" asked Elsa, eyes wide as she trembled at the thought of this thing returning to hunt her down.

"Make cannibalism punishable by death via dismemberment and burning, and ensure that all the people of Arendelle have food enough to get through the winter months. Then send out patrols to hunt the beast down. That might be enough," said Grand Pabbie with a shrug. It was a surprisingly practical approach as well, instead of the sleight of hand that she'd become accustomed too. Perhaps this was too important to leave things to chance.

"What? Isn't that a bit much?" asked Elsa. The death penalty was common enough, but most died by hanging. Anything more than that seemed to be just for show to Elsa.

"Not if you want to keep them from coming back. Cannibals become Wendigo in the land where it is from and I'm afraid this will become true in Arendelle as well now that it's here. Yes, there's only one now, but how long before its powers spread, Elsa? What then?" asked Grand Pabbie.

Elsa nodded in agreement. "You're right, of course. Thank you, Grand Pabbie," said Elsa with a slight bow as she rose from her seat.

Grand Pabbie bowed in turn and smiled at her. "You are most welcome, your Majesty. If you will allow me to send some of our folk with you as you return to your castle it would make me feel safer for you. No sense in tempting fate, after all."

"Of course, I welcome the company," said Elsa and as she stepped back from the fire two trolls rolled forward and smiled at her. One was Bulda, Kristoff's mother, and the other was a troll she didn't recognize. It would be a good journey home.


	3. Ch3 The Return of Hans

"Queen Elsa, Princess Anna, I present Prince Johan of the Southern Isles," said Kai, bowing his head in a slight nod as he stepped back to allow Prince Johan to step into view.

Prince Johan was Hans' older brother and the differences couldn't be more striking. Where Hans could only be described as a 'pretty boy,' Johan was a broad shouldered, hulk of a man. His fists looked as though he could crush a man's skull in them and his nose looked as though it has been smashed in more than once. His hair was dark, thick and coarse, spreading from the curling locks on the top of his head to a very full beard on his chin and looked as though it had fought every attempt on his part to tame it.

Johan gave Elsa a deep bow before he began to speak. "Your majesty, your highness, I am here to offer the formal apologies of the Southern Isles in regards to Hans' attempt on your lives. What he did was unacceptable, so we offer him to you for punishment." Johan snapped his fingers and two of his guard brought in man bound up from head to toe. His nose was half hacked off and his face was a mass of scars that was now curled up into a snarl that could strip paint. It took them a moment to realize that this hideous, hate filled thing was Hans.

"Dear God, what happened to him?" asked Anna, taking a step back as she took in his new appearance.

"Those are the traditional marks of a regicide, inflicted before a more serious punishment is meted out. They show the world what he's done," said Johan with nary a glance at Hans.

"He didn't kill us," said Elsa, still looking him up and down. She found that there was a rhyme and reason to the way the marks were inflicted although they were still wretched.

"But he did aid in Princess Anna's death and he almost killed you. That she came back from that death is irrelevant. What matters is that he tried," said Johan.

"And so we're expected to think of a punishment for him, just like that?" asked Anna. "Because this is one of those 'take a few minutes to think about it' moments."

"Of course not your highness, you may take as much time to think about it as you need. Shall we transfer him to your prison while you think about it?" asked Johan, raising a hand to order his men to give Hans to their own guards.

"Wait a moment. Does Hans not have anything to say on his own behalf?" asked Elsa, giving Hans a steady glare while she waited for him to respond.

Johan coughed and averted his eyes. "Not really, your majesty. His tongue was cut out before he came so as to remove his ability to charm others."

One of their guards hit Hans in the shoulder and he opened his mouth wide. Elsa and Anna could both see the stub of what was left of his tongue. He chomped his mouth at them a couple of times before shutting it again.

Anna put a hand to her mouth and her face went a pale white.

Elsa just took a deep breath and counted to ten before she responded. "Well, never mind then. It might have been nice to speak to him before his tongue was cut out, but no matter. Guards, take him to the dungeons."

A pair of palace guards took him by the shoulders and led him away and he shot one last glare at them before he left the room.

"I'm afraid he rather blames the pair of you for what happened to him. Never was one to take responsibility for his actions," said Johan with a shake of his head.

"Is he still sane?" asked Elsa as she looked towards the dungeons, imagining that she could hear his furious cries as he went down the hall.

"Oh yes, and his mind is as devious as ever. That's why the mark was chosen. It's an older punishment, true, but anything else would have just been a handicap," said Johan.

"I suppose your family would know best," said Elsa.

"How good at combat would you say Hans is?" asked Anna in rapid fire.

Johan wrinkled his face and tilted his head upwards for a moment before responding. "He's not as skilled as Arvid, our eldest brother, but he's not horrible. Why do you ask?"

"What about hunting? Is he any good at hunting?" asked Anna, leaning towards him as she asked him.

"As good as any of us, but I fail to see how this is relevant," began Johan.

Anna turned to Elsa next. "Is the Wendigo still lose?" she asked.

"What are you talking about?" asked Elsa.

"The Wendigo, the monster that you saw, is he still out there?" asked Anna again, her eyes growing brighter.

"Yes, I shouldn't see why not," said Elsa.

"Send him against that! Make him fight it and get rid of it for us!" said Anna, bouncing up and down on her heels.

Johan looked from Elsa to Anna and then back to Elsa. "Send him up against the what?" he asked.

"The Wendigo. It's a demonic beast of winter that has been hunting our people for the last couple of months now. I've tried to stop it myself, but it seems to just slip through my grip each time I set myself against it," said Elsa with a sigh. She'd gone up against it with varying methods over a dozen times and in each encounter it managed to escape destruction.

Johan stroked his beard and thought about this for a while before responding. "It would be fair to let him know what he's up against before you set him out on his task, but beyond that I can't think of anything more reasonable than this. A monster slain for a monstrous act."

"We shall set him to his task tomorrow then. Let him rot in the cells for a while so he can feel the agony of it. No sense in letting him off lightly, after all. Would you care to join us for dinner, Prince Johan?" asked Elsa with a smile.

Johan grinned. "I would be delighted, your majesty."

* * *

**A/N: If any of you were wondering what happened to Hans, now you know!**


	4. Ch4 Hans' Punishment

"That went well," said Anna as they watched Prince Johan's ship sail back to the Southern Isles.

"Yes. If only we didn't need to deal with Hans now," said Elsa with a glance down to the dungeons. They hadn't moved him yet nor had they told him their plan for his punishment.

"I'm kind of looking forward to telling him about it. He won't be in any position to reject it, after all," said Anna with a toothy grin.

"Of course not," said Elsa. It wasn't that he didn't deserve this, but she had the impression that the only reason that he'd been sent to them was because his own family wasn't really willing to do any more to him but still felt that he needed something extra.

Elsa turned and began to walk back to the throne room while Anna cackled at the window. She commanded a guard to go and fetch Hans so that she could explain his mission to him.

"Hey, wait up!" cried Anna when she realized that Elsa had left the perch by the window. "I didn't mean right now!"

Elsa stopped and sighed. "Then when, Anna? I don't want him here any longer than necessary. Every moment he's here is another moment he can make trouble for us, no matter how much of his tongue his family lopped off."

Anna nodded with her eyes downcast. "You're right, of course. It's just that I was hoping to see him locked up for a few days before you sent him on his way. Make him suffer a little more, I guess."

"Anna, he has suffered enough physical punishment, that's not why they brought him to us," said Elsa.

"That's not what I heard them say," said Anna, arms crossed with a pouty frown.

"Well it's what I heard, and I think I have more say on the matter than you do since I am Queen," said Elsa, pausing in her walk only to allow a pair of servants to open the door for her and Anna.

Anna grumbled but didn't protest as they went to their thrones on the dais of the attendance room.

The pair was similar in design; crafted out of the finest mountain timbers by the greatest carver the kingdom had ever known. The only real difference was in which seat was meant for whom. The larger, grander of the two was meant as the seat of the reigning monarch while the lesser seat was meant as a throne for the ruler's companion.

If the ruling monarch was married then this would be the throne of their husband or wife, but in Elsa's case it generally was where Anna resided since she was the closest person to Elsa. Since she didn't expect to get married anytime soon, considering the reaction the reveal her powers generated in the few nobles she might have been interested in, so for the foreseeable future the chair was Anna's.

They'd only just made themselves comfortable when the guards showed up with Hans in hand. "Your majesty, the prisoner, Hans the Regicide of the Southern Isles" said one of the guards before spitting on him. He then shoved Hans forward and shook his hand in the air, as if by touching him he might get infected with some virulent disease.

"That is quite enough. No need to do any more to him than is needed," said Elsa to the guard. The guard turned red and murmured an apology to Hans.

Hans just sneered at him, but when he turned to face Elsa he bowed. "Aa ee eee. Ee eh," said Hans, forcing the air out as he spoke.

"Hans. You know what you have done and you know the consequences of your actions," said Elsa to him.

It was not a question and Hans did not take it as such. He gave only a curt nod confirming that he understood.

"Good. Then you understand that the task I set before you is what we have deemed to be a fair and balanced punishment," said Elsa.

Hans nodded again.

"There is a monster loose in the northern reach of Arendelle called Wendigo. You are to destroy it and make sure that it cannot and will not ever recover. You are not to return until you have proof of its demise," said Elsa, never breaking her gaze with him.

Hans grunted in response. He opened his mouth to garble at her again then shook his head and paced back and forth. He then mimed taking out a sword and packing various pieces of equipment before looking at Elsa to see if she understood.

Elsa nodded. "Yes, you'll have access to what you may need. Nothing extravagant, but I won't send you out underprepared."

"What!" cried out Anna. She looked up at Hans and bit her lip before leaning towards Elsa. "I thought this was a punishment!" she said in an angry whisper.

Elsa sighed. "The punishment is the task, and if I don't allow him at least a few tools then it will be a very ineffective attempt at solving our problem, won't it?"

"But how do we know that he'll really go after it instead of just running away?" asked Anna.

Elsa looked up at Hans, who stood at attention as he waited for them to speak to him again. He didn't appear to be trying to listen to their little back and forth, but Anna was never one to be quiet about her opinions.

"Anna, do you trust me?" asked Elsa under her breath.

"Yes, but," began Anna.

"Then let me handle this, please?" asked Elsa.

Anna opened her mouth to say something but then shut it and nodded at her sister.

Elsa turned back to Hans. "The guardsmen will take you down to the armory and allow you to pick out the various tools and supplies you think you may need, but no more. Hunan, see too it," she said

The guard who brought in Hans bowed and then gripped Hans by his forearm and removed him from the room.

"That will be all, thank you," said Elsa to the other gurardsmen in the room and in a few moments Elsa and Anna were alone.

Elsa sighed and Anna's hands in hers. "Anna, I love you, and I love our new closeness, but if you're going to sit with me on the dais then you have to trust what I'm doing, alright? If nothing else you have to hold it in until we have a private moment to talk about it. Please?"

Anna opened and closed her mouth a few times and deflated. "Alright, I suppose I can be a little brash sometimes," said Anna, trying to ignore the snort of Elsa's muffled giggle, "So I'll try to keep quiet when you're doing the talking for us."

Elsa breathed in and out a couple times before responding. "That's all I ask. Besides, considering how much trouble the Wendigo gave me, I'm sure it'll not be a walk in the park for Hans either," she said with a smile.


	5. Ch5 The Hot Cocoa Machine

Elsa and Anna watched as Hans rode out with the group of royal huntsmen and solders that served as both his aids and keepers. Kristoff rode with them as well, serving as a guide to the northern woods of the kingdom. He turned and gave a little wave to Anna, who smiled and raised her own hand in response.

"I like this less and less with each passing moment," said Anna as she watched the group disappear beyond the city gates and begin the long trek into the mountains.

"Anna, who else could we trust to keep a good eye on Hans and not be convinced to let him run rampant? Besides, Kristoff's a big boy, he can handle it," said Elsa. She was loathe to admit that she too felt a twinge of regret for having sent Kristoff out with Hans, though she couldn't pinpoint why.

"I guess," said Anna as she cast one last look back out at Kristoff.

"Anna, if you're really that concerned," said Elsa and with a gesture she began to conjure up a snowman.

When she began it had every indication of becoming just another variant of Marshmallow: large, hulking and inclined to brutality to accomplish her goals. As she created it, though, new ideas sprang into mind. She pulled the snowman from two legs down onto four and gave it muzzle. After a bit more sculpting she added in a pair of ears and a tail to round it off. When she was finished with it, she took a step back and released the magic she'd been using. It flowed into the snowbeast and it took on a fierce awareness of the world around it.

"Go and protect Kristoff, but keep hidden until and unless you're needed," Elsa said to it. With a wave of her hand it bounded out through the open window and raced out into the wilderness to track Hans, Kristoff and the rest of their group.

"Feel better now?" Elsa asked as she watched Anna track the snowbeast.

Anna smiled at her. "Yeah, I do. Thanks. I'd like to see Hans try something with a great big snow monster tracking his every move," said Anna.

Elsa laughed. "Well, it's not really tracking Hans. Just Kristoff," she said.

Anna shrugged. "I know, but it's nice to think about."

They stood at the window a few minutes more, looking out over Arendelle and contemplating horrible things that might happen to Hans, although Elsa would never have admitted to it. His betrayal of both their trusts was an unforgivable offense in the eyes of both Anna and Elsa, who each viewed his attempt on the other's life as the worst thing he could have done.

"Do you want to have some hot cocoa?" asked Elsa as she brought herself out of her memory. Elsa had a passion for chocolate, but she adored hot cocoa above all else. When she was younger it was one of the few treats she was able to share with her father without any risk of hurting him. Since he'd passed, whenever she drank it it would sink deep into her soul and fill her up with happiness and warmth.

Anna's eyes lit up at the mention of hot cocoa. "What? Yes, of course! I didn't think you had any hot cocoa left," Anna said, bouncing on her heels as she spoke.

"Anna, you know me better than that. From now until forever, there will be hot cocoa here in the palace. As a matter of fact, I have something I want to show you, come on!" said Elsa, grabbing Anna by the hand and pulling her out of the room.

Anna laughed and ran to keep up with her older sister who was now leading her on a merry run down through the palace until they wound up out at a table in the garden. Sitting on a little cart next to the table was a golden machine, covered with gilded pipes that wound around a pair of massive copper canisters. They would steam every so often, making a little whistle each time it did so. There were a few little levers on the side with delicate calligraphy marking what each one did. At the very bottom of it was a little spigot with a pair of cups on each side of it.

"What is this?" asked Anna, eyes wide with delight as she prowled around the little device.

"This is a hot cocoa machine," said Elsa as she walked up to it and laid her hand on the little control panel, taking care to not turn it on by accident. Although she'd spent three days learning how to work the device, she wasn't yet confident enough in her ability to work it that she would do it blind.

Anna bit her lower lip and reached to touch it but pulled her hand back at the last second. She reached out for it a few more times before she asked "How does it go?"

"I'll show you," said Elsa and with that she began to open up the little device and turn the various little buttons and knobs on the control panel.

She made sure to place one of the little china cups underneath the spigot before pressing the button that would activate the whole thing.

Elsa took a large chunk of chocolate and placed it into a central kettle. She pressed a button and the little device began to steam and slice the chocolate into pieces. Once the chocolate began to melt, the slicer began to act as a stirring rod to ensure that the chocolate didn't burn to the kettle and another kettle began to heat up to prepare the cream.

While this was happening, several little levers began to shake and mix up a combination of spices that would add to the taste of the chocolate. The little levers shook the various spices up before sprinkling them into a little mix pot, which shut when the determined amount of spices had been added. It began to shake the spices around while the cream pot whistled and was stirred into the chocolate kettle.

The spices were then added in portions. A few spices were stirred directly into the chocolate and cream mix and allowed to heat before the mix of spices as mixed in. The little device dinged and all of the chocolate drained into the china cup, stirring around the chocolate as it did so before dinging again.

Elsa gestured to the cup and when Anna picked it up she found a snowflake pattern on the surface of the chocolate, although it sloshed away once she took a sip.

Anna smiled. "This is wonderful! You'll have to tell me how to work the device! What's it called, anyway?" she asked.

Elsa frowned. "I don't remember. Cappa frappe something, I think. I don't remember. It was made in Switzerland, though, so I'm sure it's something very technical." Elsa pressed another button and the machine began the process again.

"Well, I for one am a fan," said Anna as she supped her hot cocoa.

"Of course you are," said Elsa with a smile.


	6. Ch6 A Successful Hunt

For the first few days the hunting expedition was gone Anna and Elsa were able to go about their business, enjoying their time together and exploring Arendelle's port city. They didn't think about it, considering that they had no way of knowing how well or poorly it might be going. They were content to go from shop to shop, pub to pub and store to store mingling with their citizens.

There were a few people everywhere they went that wanted to know more about Kristoff as the rumors had begun t o circulate. Some said he was just a knight from across the mountains that saved the kingdom by slaying the frost giant that was the true bringer of the winter storm; while some claimed he was a witch man that had come to cast a spell on the royal sisters in an effort to control Arendelle. Neither Anna nor Elsa feigned to answer any of them.

Most people, though, were happy just to see the royal family taking an interest in their lives once again after almost thirteen years of nothing.

As the days went on, though, Anna's patience began to wane. She began to spend more and more time waiting in the highest room in the tallest tower of the palace as she looked out to the mountains to see they were on their way back. She'd approach the men out from the mountain when they came in to sell their firewood and ice to ask if they'd heard anything of them yet. No one ever did.

Elsa, meanwhile, made a point of not hovering and watching for the hunting party, instead throwing herself more and more into the nuances of running a nation. She tried to not shut herself away in her office like she had before she reopened the doors but as the days turned into weeks she found it was easier to just not think about it. The little cocoa device became a veritable mainstay in her office and something was always on the brew.

She learned that it could do more than hot cocoa; there was a small bean it came with called coffee that she decided to try out. She found that it tasted divine, only second to chocolate in its palpable delight. It took her a few days before she found that grinding the bean made it taste even better. It also made a number of parts on the little cocoa device make more sense, as she found that she could pour the grains into the various bits and watch as the machine worked its magic.

She became quite twitchy, inclined to giggle fits and began to grow snappish if she wasn't able to get to the cocoa device for a drink on a regular occasion. When she realized that her own meager supplies of coffee and tea were diminishing, Elsa sent for three prominent merchants to see if they could work out a route to get more. They'd used to get theirs from Weselton, but that wasn't an option anymore.

The three merchants had been debating in front of her for over an hour when a watchman rushed into the room.

"They're back," was all he was able to say before Elsa rushed out the door, colliding into Anna as she bolted into the hall.

"Did you hear?" asked Elsa as she helped Anna get up.

"Yes! Finally! I don't even care if Hans is with them, I just can't want to see Kristoff!" said Anna as she balled up her fists and squealed.

When they got to the palace gates their enthusiasm diminished. The group had been reduced by half and many of the men they'd sent were battered, broken and bruised, with arms and legs sent in thick binds.

Anna was polite enough to the group as a whole, but they moved out of her way when they saw her scouring over them.

"He's alive, but only just," said Captain Bjorn, the lead huntsmen, as he went over to the wagon they took with them and pulled back a blanket to reveal Kristoff. His breathing was ragged and forced and his face was covered with bloody scars.

"Oh Kristoff!" cried Anna as she rushed to embrace him. His skin felt cold as ice but Anna didn't care. She was content to hold him for as long as she could stand.

"Ribs, Anna," he said with a wince, but he still smiled despite her fierce grip.

"Sorry," she said as she loosened her hold on him, unwilling to admit that she was a little relieved to let him go. He really was quite cold. "What happened?" she asked.

"The Wendigo happened. He surprised us, in the mountains. It killed Hans right off the bat and ripped apart five huntsmen before we were able to pull together," said Kristoff**_, _**his face curling into a grimace as he remembered the events of the mountain.

"So Hans is dead, then," said Elsa.

"Unless he survived being eaten, then yes," said Kristoff.

Anna thought she saw a ghost of a smile flicker across his face, but it was gone just as soon as it appeared, as if it was a flicker of an image out of sync.

"Did you bring the body back?" asked Elsa, looking over the wagons for signs of the Wendigo.

"Yes, your majesty," said Captain Bjorn, opening one of the bundles to reveal a clutch of hacked limbs and body parts.

Anna gasped at the bundle of limbs, putting a hand to her face to hide her gag. Elsa just nodded.

"It seemed safest to do it this way, your majesty. I trust you don't mind?" asked Captain Bjorn, eyes wide as he watched for Elsa's response.

"That's fine, you did well" said Elsa, walking around the wagon to get a better view of the clutches of broken Wendigo flesh.

"Oh, and one more thing, your majesty," said Captain Bjorn. He reached down underneath the front seat and pulled out a small, fist sized bundle wrapped up in brown sackcloth. The thing pulsed in and out in his hand in a steady, rhythmic fashion. "It didn't stop trying to reform until we cut it out," he said.

"What is it?" asked Anna as the thing captivated her attention like nothing she'd ever seen.

"It's the beast's heart. Kristoff suggested we cut it out to keep it down," said Captain Bjorn. Elsa held out her hand and the lead hunter dropped it in, shivering as it left his control.

Anna staggered back, away from Elsa, Kristoff and the hunters. "And it's still beating?" she cried, unable to tear her eyes away no matter how hard she wanted to.

"Of course it is. It's magic," said Kristoff, never looking away from the beating heart either. He didn't look horrified, though. He looked content, pleased even, despite the shivers it sent up everyone else around it.

Elsa, meanwhile, stood there with her eyes wide as she gripped the beating heart in her hands. At Kristoff's words, she broke out of her little trance and narrowed her eyes. "Well that's a nice little catch-all, isn't it? It does this, so it must be magic. Really, I would have expected better from you, Kristoff."

Elsa turned to Captain Bjorn. "I want you to cut out its gut and set free anything in it. I don't expect anything to be alive but we can at least give its latest victims a proper burial, even if it is just Hans. Then build five pyres and burn it to ash and dump the ashes as far apart as you can. I want to be sure it's dead," she said as she looked on at the various clutches of Wendigo.

"It shall be done, your majesty," said Captain Bjorn and like that he and his men set to their task, taking care to take Kristoff out of the wagon before they went on their way.

Elsa looked up and saw Kai hovering near the door, having caught up with the pair of sisters at last. He looked prim and proper, hands clinched behind his back and face wrinkled up like someone had just waived a dead fish under it. "Kai, if you would be so kind as to call down some servants to transport Kristoff back to his chambers, he seems rather unable to move at the moment."

"It shall be done, your majesty," he said and within moments servants appeared almost out of thin air and began to lift and maneuver Kristoff inside, ignoring his protests as they moved him.

None of them commented on Kristoff's frigid skin. Talking about how cold things were had become taboo amongst the servants of the palace once Elsa's powers were revealed. Elsa had told them any number of times to let her know about the temperature if it was uncomfortable and to add more wood to the fire if that made them feel better. The servants in turn smiled at her and bundled up like they'd always done; taking pride in their Queen's icy powers and their ability to serve her no matter what.

Anna followed close by as they moved him, hovering about like a mother hen.

Elsa, in turn, left and carried the beating heart to her chambers. No one questioned her motives, trusting her to do the right thing. Their trust was not misplaced.


	7. Ch7 An Abhorrent Admirer

Elsa concentrated and poured a little more power into the cold, beating thing in her hands. "Alright, what is that you want?" Elsa asked the Wendigo's heart once more.

The Wendigo's heart shuddered and began to pulse before it sent a weak reply. "Lady of Winter, you are in danger."

"Yes, from you, because I've been fool enough to not put you down just yet," said Elsa with a roll of her eyes.

"No, not I! Why should I hurt my Lady of Winter?" cried the Wendigo's heart. "The changer, the liar, the one who speaks false. He means to do you wrong."

"Well that's wonderfully specific. I know just who you're talking about," said Elsa in an exasperated tone.

"He is marked, scarred, maimed" said the Wendigo's heart after a time. Elsa could feel it trying to draw on memories that were no longer available to it, burning through what little power she'd given it to do so. It prodded memories towards her, offering them out like an olive branch. She felt the vague images paint blurry pictures in her mind and a face stood out among the throng.

"Hans? Hans means to harm me? Hans is dead, as per Kristoff and the others," said Elsa, almost throwing the Wendigo's heart across the room as she spoke. It had taken hours to get it to say even this much and she wasn't sure why she'd bothered now. It had seemed so important to reach the damned thing when she'd first taken it to her chambers, but each attempt to reach it resulted only in a vague sense of urgency.

"Lies, it lies," said the Wendigo's heart. "Trust it not. Use your heart; feel its presence."

"My heart tells me to burn you to ash," said Elsa as she got up to go to the fireplace in her room.

"It lies, Lady of Winter, it lies!" cried the Wendigo's heart as she moved forward. It began to bleat at her again, sending waves of distress and longing to her mind.

Elsa stopped just short of the fireplace and sighed. No matter how useless it was now, destroying it would take away the only possible source of information about this apparent new threat. The fireplace wasn't lit in any case and it would take some time to build and light a fire.

"Fine, I won't burn you to ash, but be warned. If you try anything then I will make you regret it," said Elsa, casting any icy binding on the Wendigo's heart as she did so. She'd learned a great deal about her powers while hunting the Wendigo and had long since become adept at building barriers of ice that were impenetatable to all but her.

The Wendigo's heart, for its part, just sent a wave of content and happiness to her before all sensations from it vanished.

Elsa heard a knock at the door and so she set the Wendigo's heart on her desk before she went to answer it.

"Hi Elsa! Kristoff's been really hungry ever since he got settled in so I had a meal or two or three with him before he finally fell asleep. Were you talking to someone? It sounded like you were talking to someone," said Anna in a single breath as she swept in Elsa's office with nary a glace around her.

Elsa smiled and shut the doors behind her. "Yes, I was speaking with the Wendigo," she said.

Anna stopped in her tracks and turned to stare at Elsa. "You were talking to the monster? But Kristoff said it was dead, so how could you talk to it?" she asked. She sounded more curious than concerned.

"It's not quite dead yet. Its heart still has something of a mind of its own, though it's not in any condition to do anything to anyone now," said Elsa. "It seemed very eager to help out as well, though I'm not sure of what to make of what it told me. Hell, I'm not even sure why I'm listening to it," she added after a moment of thought.

Anna shrugged. "It has cold magic, you have cold magic. Maybe it likes you," she said. Anna had a number of other things she could say about the Wendigo monster as well, but if Elsa didn't think it was a threat worth talking about, then she wasn't going to bother worrying about it either.

Elsa shuddered at the thought. "Don't even say that. The way it keeps calling me 'Lady of Winter," I'm not sure you're wrong."

Anna laughed at the absurdity of the notion. "Just think, Elsa! Your first gentleman caller!" she said, although her smile turned into a grimace soon enough.

"Of course it is. Your first gentleman callers were a handsome mountain man and a sociopath, so it's only fitting that as Queen my first gentleman callers are a thuggish prince and a cannibalistic monster from across the world. I can't begin to hope who my next one will be," said Elsa as she sank back into a comfy chair.

Anna laughed and sank into the chair across from her. "I thought you liked Prince Johan," she said with a merry chirp.

"If I want to have a conversation with a rock, I'll go talk with the trolls. No, that's not fair. At least they have intelligent things to say. I swear, if his man hadn't been prompting him the whole time I think he would have stared at his hands the whole meal," said Elsa with a groan.

"You probably intimidated him," said Anna with a grin. "But if he was so terrible, why'd you accept their apology at all?" she asked.

"Honestly? I was terrified who they might send next. I don't want to run the whole gambit of brothers in an attempt to find one that's witty enough for me. Besides, he meant well and he was sincere in what he said, so I had no reason to turn him down beyond his general lack of tact," said Elsa with a shrug.

"Fair enough," said Anna. She then leaned forward and arched her fingers. "What I want to know is how the Wendigo's heart was able to talk to you. It's not like it has a mouth," she said.

Elsa shrugged. "We didn't really use words, exactly. It was more like it tried to speak into my head. Even then, it took hours before it was able to tell me anything at all."

"What did it tell you?" asked Anna, leaning forward in her seat.

"Nothing specific. It said that Hans was out to get me and not to trust his lies, and to listen to my heart," said Elsa as she sank deeper into the chair.

"Well that's useless. Hans is dead, Kristoff said so himself. But he's on target about listening to your heart, that's worked out well for us so far," said Anna with a slight smile. It was because she listened to her heart that they'd finally gotten past the barrio that had kept them separated for so long, although Elsa's newfound control of her powers helped.

"When are you going to burn it up like the rest of his body?" asked Anna after a moment of silence.

"I don't know. I should just destroy it now, but as it stands now it's pretty much helpless unless I'm speaking with it, so it's not doing anyone any harm anymore. I don't know what to do with it," said Elsa with a glance to the Wendigo's heart. It wasn't beating anymore and the luster had gone out of it. Perhaps its conversation with her had taxed its abilities as far as they could go.

"I think you should just burn it, but if you think it's safe then that's your prerogative," said Anna, glancing over at the Wendigo's heart as well, although her eyes narrowed at the offending thing.

"I'll burn it eventually, but until I'm sure this Wendigo situation is resolved I'd like to keep it on hand," said Elsa.

"Isn't it solved already?" asked Anna.

Elsa shrugged. "Maybe. I hope so, but I can't be sure anymore. This thing is outside of anything we know of, so any advantage I can get isn't one I'm going to throw away just yet."

"If you say so," said Anna with a dejected sigh. She trusted her sister, but sometime Elsa could be inclined to even brasher choices than even Anna made. Sure, Anna was impulsive a lot, but only on little things, except when it came to marriage, or meeting people, or getting into fights. But Elsa would save up her brashness for big things, like setting off eternal winters or isolating herself from the world. Anna hoped this wasn't one of those times.


End file.
